Hi, my name is Katie and I'm a Third Culture Kid. It's been 4 years since my last international move.
9:49 AM
Earlier this week Hilary of Perfect Purple Flowers as sent me a link to Denizen Magazine- a website devoted to Third Culture Kids in all their forms. I poured through the articles for hours, relishing the variety of personal challenges, ambitions and feelings about living in a culture (or cultures) which are not your own or that of your parents.
Just in case you're confused about what a Third Culture Kid is- here's a quote I particularly like from Wikipedia.
"A Third Culture Kid is a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents' culture. The TCK frequently builds relationships to all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture may be assimilated into the TCK's life experience, the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar background."- David Pollock
Thankfully, being in DC means that I can easily find people who get my TCK idiosyncrasies instead of just being amazed or annoyed by them- one of those people is certainly my loving boyfriend who is so immersed in the world outside the United States, I forget sometimes that he grew up here.
It's Friday, so I figure I should throw in some humour after the hyper-political, stressful news filled week we had here in the States.
Without further ado, here's a snapshot of what it's like to be a Third Culture Kid, all grown up and in the District!
When one of my old friends announces they're moving to Washington:
People in DC complain about the transience of this place, but the fact is that for me it's not just something I take in stride, it means that my friends who dispersed to Europe and the UK and all over this HUGE country are now coming to DC! It's the place to be for most of us who are starting careers in government, development, NGOs and everything else we grew up with and I love that!
When everyone from high school lives somewhere more exotic than me:
Being back stateside is great- but suddenly people from high school (and college) are doing much more exciting things than me. I think I actually teared up at the bar over this the other night.
When you meet a really cute guy and he says he's never really wanted to leave the country:
This pretty much the plight of any TCK who ever tried to date in the US. All I can say is- come to DC- the odds are better here.
When I can't answer "Where are you from?" and someone follows up with "Well, where do you call home?"
Keep trying....
When men try to impress me by saying they lived abroad for 3 months:
Basically all TCK dating post-college...
File under things I don't miss and am not eager to deal with again!
The point of all of this inside-joking is that I'm so happy and so grateful for my life in DC, for the plethora of films in foreign languages, parties for Nowruz, Diwali and Midsommar and for friends who will understand when I pick up and move far away from here, that it's not personal.
Goodbye isn't permanent for me, and crossing borders is about as big a deal as cross state lines.
Happy Friday!
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